6th Panzer Division

The 6th Panzer Division was an armored division of the German Wehrmacht that was active from 1939 to 1945 during World War II. The division took part in the invasion of Poland, during which it used Czech-built tanks, and it later fought in the Battle of France. In 1941, the division took part in Operation Barbarossa as a part of Army Group North, and it fought at the Battle of Moscow, the Battle of Stalingrad (during which it failed to rescue the German 6th Army), the Third Battle of Kharkov, and the Battle of Kursk. After the retreat from the Ukraine, the division was sent to Germany to rest and refit, although it hastily returned to the Eastern Front and took part in the defense of northern Poland and East Prussia before being redeployed to Hungary in December 1944. The division took part in the battles around Budapest before retreating into Austria and taking part in the defense of Vienna. After the city's fall, the division surrendered to the US Army in Czechoslovakia in May 1945, although its prisoners were later turned over to the Red Army.